Survivor 32

I think they made a good move in sending home Jason, showed Tai he doesn't have as much control as he thought. I do think they should have flipped and voted out Tai, he has the idol and is too likeable to take to the end. Good episode!

yeah they could have voted tai out as it turned out.Tai was only one voting for michele.

I dont get why tai wanted michelle out anyway.

people in this game get cocky when in a good position, and it goes to their heads, and oftentimes get voted outat that point.

Tai wasted his special dbl vote, and will have to play idol either next time or one after.I think he plans to use it at 4, so next time would be good time to vote him out.

I think the mark the chicken thing at tribal would be great lol, and if you didnt like the final 2 vote for MTC !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Each week, host Jeff Probst will answer a few questions about the latest episode of Survivor: Kaôh Rōng.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: First off, I have been negligent in not getting your thoughts on Mark the Chicken. How exactly are the rules of Survivor worded? Is Mark eligible to be named the Sole Survivor if he manages to not get eaten over the next eight days? JEFF PROBST: Brilliant question! Yes, I’m surprised “Mark the Chicken” is not a bigger story. I mean, think about it — one man (Tai) has convinced a group of starving people to not eat a chicken because it’s become his friend. That’s pretty powerful. And it’s Mark Burnett. The KING of … well, everything. So yes, we amended the rules to state “If Mark the Chicken survives all 39 days, he is thereby eligible to take a spot at the final Tribal Council and plead his case.” I know this will upset some people who think we are being a bit loose with the rules but “producers’ discretion” means just that. I do think it will be easier for MTC if Tai is also in the final Tribal, because Tai can translate Chicken to English. Otherwise, I do think MTC will have an uphill battle convincing the jury that he is worthy of the million dollars and the title of Sole Survivor. But hey, that’s why they play the game. You never know.I know you all like to do these rewards where players get to interact with the local community, whether it is visiting a local school, a village, or in this case, a rescue shelter for animals. Tell me about the importance of this one and why you like sprinkling these types of experiences onto the show? Survivor is a tapestry of experiences. We want it to be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Interacting with the local community is often a part of the journey. In this case, it was just so fun to be able to visit a rescue shelter for animals that we knew it had to be in the show. It’s always a balance of reality, challenges, Tribal Council, rewards, local community, and private moments. We don’t force them into the show; we only use them when they are available and make sense.

Two great challenges this week, and I want to ask you about the immunity competition, because while this is certainly not the first time we’ve seen someone come back from way behind to win, it was kind of stunning in how far behind Cydney was. When you were calling the challenge, did you think she had any shot whatsoever? It is kind of amazing when I look back on all the times I have thought someone was absolutely out of a challenge with no chance of winning, and they’ve come back to pull it out. Yes, early on Cydney’s approach just seemed so slow that even though she wasn’t dropping, she was just never going to get there in time. But there was a moment about 70 percent of the way into the challenge where you could feel the momentum shift from Cydney trying to get in it — to everybody trying to catch Cydney.

That’s a great moment, because we often design our challenges so that there can be a Hail Mary moment where someone can go for broke and try to catch the leader. That’s what happened here as people started to move faster and get more careless in the hopes of catching her. It turned into an incredibly dramatic finish and what a surprising victory! Slow and steady won the race in this case. That is one of my favorite challenges. It’s one of those “instant classic” challenges that we will be using again for sure!

BONUS QUESTION! We have five players left and two episodes. I’m doing a little Survivor math on the fly here, and does that mean we are possibly looking at a final two this season? Could it be that we finally listened to you and my friend Mike White (School of Rock, Enlightened) and went back to a final two? I mean, with all the evacuations we’ve had, it would make sense. And all your fans know you are an ardent supporter of the final two. Plus, you know that we here on the show think you are the cat’s meow and we only want to please you. So… is it possible that we are, at least for this season, going back to a final two? Yes, it is… possible.

Okay, sir, tease us up for next week’s penultimate episode. Next time on Survivor: Every dog has their day.

I think they made a good move in sending home Jason, showed Tai he doesn't have as much control as he thought. I do think they should have flipped and voted out Tai, he has the idol and is too likeable to take to the end. Good episode!

Each week, host Jeff Probst will answer a few questions about the latest episode of Survivor: Kaôh Rōng.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You’ve run memory challenges before, and surely ran a few tests of this immunity challenge with the Dream Team. Give us an idea of just how difficult it must have been for Michele to memorize every single symbol, as she said she did here. JEFF PROBST: We did a similar type of memory challenge during Stephen Fishbach’s season [Tocantins] and he memorized a bunch of numbers at once, came back, and won the challenge. I think he connected it to how we memorize phone numbers. But the result was that we realized it was possible for someone to do it, just very unlikely. So we made this one tougher by connecting symbols to the numbers and adding a few more. I honestly didn’t even consider someone would be able to do it in one run — just didn’t cross my mind. So when Michelle got it that fast I was pretty surprised and definitely impressed. The way the challenge is set up, you don’t have to memorize all of them, you just had to know the ones that were going to be on the answer board. So it’s possible you could just get lucky and memorize the exact ones you ended up needing. The way your question is phrased, it sounds like maybe that’s what you’re implying? I think it’s possible she memorized them all. She doesn’t strike me as someone who would make that up. Michele seems to be pretty straight up about stuff like that.

I haven’t asked you one Joe question all season, which makes sense since he’s been relatively invisible out there as far as airtime. All we’ve really seen from him is being first out in most challenges and refusing to ever change his vote last minute. But just being out there for 29 days now at his age in what seems like the harshest Survivor conditions ever is certainly an impressive accomplishment. Since we haven’t seen a lot of him, give us your take on what you saw and thought of Joe out there on location.Joe was an instant “yes” when we met him in casting. Very few people in their 70s can get out there and play Survivor. We’ve had two: Rudy Bosch in season 1 and Joe in season 32. I have been absolutely blown away by Joe. He’s a really amazing example of what is possible when you really want something. He has lived his life with adventure as a theme. He goes after what he wants. He wanted Survivor, he went for it, and he got it. To survive these conditions at any age is hard — just ask Aubry — and Joe is thriving. He may not be as malleable as some, he may not be as physical as some, but he’s in this game, and he’s got a vote — and that’s more than the majority of the players who started this game can say.

I do want to be clear: I don’t appreciate Joe only because he’s older. He has a great spirit. I think he is a good person who looks out for others. Yes, his age plays a part in his performance, but that’s expected. It would be a shame if people just saw him as the “older, gray-haired gentlemen in great shape.” What I think Joe offers is a reminder that you MUST go for what inspires you. You MUST seek the adventures that are calling you. Joe did, and we are all so grateful.

Tai asks Aubry at Tribal Council if he should play his idol, and she tells him that she thinks he’s fine. Even though he is in her alliance, seeing as how he is a big threat to win should he make it to the end and has an idol and an advantage, wouldn’t the better play for her have been to tell him to use the idol just to get it out of the game? That way it would be easier for her to cut him later if she wants. What say you? You just asked the kind of question that keeps players up at night. What IS the right move? On one hand, Aubry could betray Tai or play dumb and say she really did think he was in trouble, so play the idol. But then Tai could turn on her and vote her out or not vote for her if he makes the jury and she is final three or, or, or, or…. There is no way to know. My best guess is that Aubry made a move that she thought would connect her to Tai. Tai likes to play from a foundation based on moral code. He seems to respect that kind of gameplay. If that’s true, then Aubry may have just solidified her strongest alliance by showing Tai that you can trust me — “I get you, and I won’t lie to you.”

On the other hand, she could be setting him up for a bigger move by showing him — “I get you, I won’t lie to you” — right before she votes him out next week! And who knows, maybe Tai will now realize — “Wow, that was a great move. In fact, it’s too good a move; I need to get her out of this game!” I’m the first to remind everybody that I have never played and would no doubt be voted out early for one reason or another.

Only a few episodes left! Tease us up for next week, sir! Push is coming to shove. With so few people left, the alliances are going to truly be put to the test. There will be consequences.

I think Tai made a great move by not giving Scot his idol, seeing on how if they eliminate the votes against Scot, he and Aubrey both had the next highest votes, he probably leaves on the revote. Good episode, I loved seeing the cocky fall!

Each week, host Jeff Probst will answer a few questions about the latest episode of Survivor: Kaôh Rōng.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Oh, Jeffrey, this was positively delicious. Please take me through every single second of what it was like being there and what happened at Tribal when Scot expected Tai to hand over his immunity idol to make the Super Idol and Tai didn’t do it. Give us some on the scene reporting! Well, I was exactly like you and everybody else watching. I really didn’t know what he was going to do. Tai is unpredictable and Tribal is unpredictable, so all that uncertainty was really suspenseful. After last week’s Tribal I think everybody was expecting Tai to stick with his alliance and use the Super Idol, so when he didn’t, it was definitely a surprise. It definitely rocked the jury and, of course, Scot and Jason. There was a lot of weight to the moment in terms of human energy. You could see Scot and Jason both racing to catch up to the ramifications. They clearly never anticipated Tai betraying them. And Tai, just sitting there, feeling the pressure that comes with making a big move. Impressing the existing jury on one hand but insuring he won’t get Scot’s vote if Tai makes it to the final.

Personally, I just enjoyed the game play. I notice that with each passing season I become less and less emotionally shocked by anything that happens at Tribal. It’s a really fun disconnect in that I am actively involved in the proceedings but I don’t have any expectation about where it will lead. In other words, it’s never a case of “Will this be an entertaining Tribal or a boring Tribal?” It’s always “What will happen at tonight’s Tribal?”

The players have evolved the game play to such a level that Tribal is almost always entertaining because they make it so. In the same way that players increasingly vote out the weaker or less interesting people early on. I know that may hurt some feelings but I do feel that it is often the case of late. It’s like there is a sense of what will make for the best game play and if it’s great game play it makes for a more fun season, and as a player that is what you want because it increases your chances of being asked to play again!

Tai talked about having to listen to either his head or his heart in terms of which alliance to go with. Does that mean this decision to vote against Scot and not hand over his idol was made from an emotional place as opposed to a strategic one? (Although it certainly seems like the right strategic call seeing as how the men were planning to ditch him anyway.) What was your take on why Tai made the move?It’s a great question for the live show because I honestly am not sure what inspired the move. Generally speaking, I think Tai is led by emotion. Almost always. But, I also think he’s a very crafty player and he’s clearly willing to make big moves. So if I had to guess, I would say it was strategic. Just not wanting to give up that idol with so much game left, and also sensing that Jason and Scot were very tight and sooner or later he would be the odd man out. But the biggest issue Tai seems to have is that his big moves come with an emotional price tag. Some players are able to blindside their closest friend and not get upset about it. I don’t think Tai is that way. Whether he is showing it or not, I get the sense that Tai wants to be liked, and when he is defensive it’s because it’s difficult for him to accept his own behavior. Add it to the list of reasons why Survivor is an ass kicker of a game.

Just so everyone is clear, had the Super Idol been used by Scot, then the next two highest people with votes were Tai and Aubry, with two apiece. So what would have happened next? Well, first you have to remember that Tai voted for Scot, so he was never going to use the idol to save him. e betrayed him the moment he wrote his name down. So if Tai had used the idol to save Scot after voting for Scot it would rival the worst move in Survivor history! But yes, if he did use the idol, regardless the circumstances, then Scot is safe. Then, everybody except Tai and Aubry would vote again and they could only vote for Tai or Aubry. Tai would have been voted out and would still be in therapy trying to figure out what happened.

You know I am all about providing choices in challenges, so tell me about the idea—which I loved—of allowing the contestants to choose whether to play for food, letters from home, or an advantage in the game. That also forced them to have to figure out not only what was most valuable, but which would be easiest to win due to a possible lack of competition. What was the inspiration behind the idea and what would have happened if only one person had decided to go for one of the three? I love that you asked. Here’s how it went down. I felt the Survivor auction was broken. It had become about one thing — getting an advantage. So I gave the challenge department their own challenge: How do we take the things we like from the auction — love, food, and advantage — and turn it into a challenge. One thing about our challenge department: They always rise to the occasion. Chris Marchand, who works side by side with Survivor Challenge Master John Kirhoffer, came up with the idea. We knew it was a brilliant idea the second we heard it. It’s one of those moments that come around once or twice a season if you’re lucky. We were lucky. And yes we will use it again in the future.

BONUS QUESTION: Which would you have gone for: Food, letters from home, or the advantage in the game? And why? Advantage. But only because I would have felt I could win. I like that challenge, I like my odds, and advantage is definitely the #1 choice. But what’s fun about it is what you mentioned; it handicaps the challenge in a really interesting way. If you feel the challenge is going to be a tough one for you, then increase your odds of winning something by choosing the item you think has the least overall appeal — letters from home. Chances are you’ll be matched up against people on your same skill level and now the challenge has evened itself out. It’s truly a great idea and one that every other incarnation of Survivor being done around the world will steal.

We are getting close to the home stretch here, so tease us up for next week’s episode. I think you saw a taste of it tonight. Loyalty. There have been so many different, fractured alliances. Now more than any other point in the game, you are looking for people you can trust, if only for one vote.

The super idol doesn't come in to play until after the person is voted out, so they could save all 3 of themselves, they wouldn't play it until after they tie was decided, they are guaranteed to be protected completely for one tribal, I wouldn't have gotten rid of Debbie either, I would have forced their hands, and hoped my name wasn't who they were writing down, good episode!

Well no they could only save one of the 3, the one who had the most votes.That would have left tai and cyndee with 3 votes each and then both idols are gone.

If tai only had 2 votes then cyndee goes.

But now they lost one person, and the 3 guys still have the super idolSo sadly they will be around for awhile.

I did think what they did was smart, they made it look like they would use the idols separately , and theothers believed it.

But I still dont see the logic in voting debbie out at that point.It just makes no sense at all, even voting out julie made no sense.

No, you don't play the super idol until someone is voted out, after the tie break, so they all 3 would still be safe, just play the idol on whoever is voted out.

The super idol doesn't come in to play until after the person is voted out, so they could save all 3 of themselves, they wouldn't play it until after they tie was decided, they are guaranteed to be protected completely for one tribal, I wouldn't have gotten rid of Debbie either, I would have forced their hands, and hoped my name wasn't who they were writing down, good episode!

Well no they could only save one of the 3, the one who had the most votes.That would have left tai and cyndee with 3 votes each and then both idols are gone.

If tai only had 2 votes then cyndee goes.

But now they lost one person, and the 3 guys still have the super idolSo sadly they will be around for awhile.

I did think what they did was smart, they made it look like they would use the idols separately , and theothers believed it.

But I still dont see the logic in voting debbie out at that point.It just makes no sense at all, even voting out julie made no sense.

Each week, host Jeff Probst will answer a few questions about the latest episode of Survivor: Kaôh Rōng.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: We saw Scot, Jason, and Tai hiding the machete and ax and pouring the tribe water all over the fire to put it out. Is that a legitimate method of strategy or are they just being a sore loser babies? And what are we to make of Tai going to the dark side and putting out the fire himself?

JEFF PROBST: It’s a great question. Putting aside my own personal feelings, I’d say yes, it’s a legit strategy. Trying to instill fear, chaos, hopelessness, or any emotion that takes someone out of their best self is a strategy. As for whether it’s sore losers, I’m not sure it has to be one or the other. It can be both. There is a bit of sore loser playing out. I am fascinated by what happens when Scot and Jason are together versus when they are apart. Both were really nice guys in casting. I liked them very much and never saw this coming. It’s a thin-slice look at the many nuances of this game. One personality can shift another personality and that can shift an entire tribe dynamic. I imagine that right now Scot and Jason are bummed that they are seen by some of our audience as bullies, because I don’t think they see themselves that way. Scot is a former pro athlete — those guys play for keeps. They have huge stakes, millions of dollars on the line, plus personal pride. Jason chases other humans for a living. It doesn’t get any more personal than that. So I think both of them were triggered by their fight or flight instincts and this is the result. The bigger question from a game point of view can it work?Playing both sides can work if you have strong partners and nobody realizes you are doing it, but all Julia seems to have done is put herself on the bottom of two different alliances. At the reward challenge, you allowed the players to see if they could make their own teams and I’m sure you all were curious what would happen. What was your reaction when Julia volunteered to go with the guys?

I loved it. I can’t say enough about Julia. So young and so mature and so brave. She’s playing a reckless game and that is to be commended. She is playing one of the most aggressive games of anyone still left. She’s a contender. Every move comes with a potential negative consequence. But as you and I often talk about in this column, Monday morning quarterbacking is for couch potatoes. If you are a true fan who has imagined actually having to play this game you can only admire the attempt. Many, many, many winners have played two or even three sides. And many, many winners needed a second shot, or more to make it happen.

There were a lot of different ways Jason, Scot, and Tai could have handled this super idol situation, and they appeared to do the smartest thing possible by threatening to use them individually, but then not using them at all before the reading of the votes, yet keeping it as a double-idol post-vote-reading safety net, which they ended up not even needing. If that alliance stays strong, as a player can you even target them with all that idol power?

It’s a great question. I agree, they played it beautifully and with extreme confidence. We never know how a twist is going to work but this one has given us so much story and layered game play. Just looking at this from the stand point of “generally speaking” — it would seem that if they stick with their agreement to use it, then one of them is guaranteed safety. No matter which one of the three you pick, they will be safe. And you have to assume they will throw their three votes on one player. But Survivor has so many crossed lines and blurred alliances that all it takes is one stray decision to throw everything off. And … the other big question is what happens after you’ve used it? Because now both the idols are gone and you’re vulnerable again. Survivor is a never-ending series of what ifs.

BONUS QUESTION! Debbie is one of the more unique characters we’ve seen on this show, and I’m guessing there was even more out there in your interactions that did not make the final cut. What was it like interacting with her at challenges and Tribal Council and how sad are you lose her?

Debbie is one of a kind. I adore Debbie. She is wacky and she owns it. She knows a little about a lot. She has a tremendous sense of humor and a self-deprecating view of the parts of herself that make us laugh. He was gold every single time she said anything. But I think the biggest surprise to our audience was how much of a big time player she turned out to be. Many of my friends wrote her off in the first episode as the lady with a hundred jobs, but she turned them. She earned her keep out there and should be proud. I miss her already.

Okay, sir. Tease us up for next week’s episode!

It’s getting more difficult to tease because so much happens. So how’s this? I think the audience will be screaming at their TVs by the time it’s over!

The super idol doesn't come in to play until after the person is voted out, so they could save all 3 of themselves, they wouldn't play it until after they tie was decided, they are guaranteed to be protected completely for one tribal, I wouldn't have gotten rid of Debbie either, I would have forced their hands, and hoped my name wasn't who they were writing down, good episode!

I have a question though, cyndee knows jason has the idol, and maybe knows about tai, so why does she not tell the other girls ???????????Debby thought they had no idol at all, and they were making strategy based on the guys not having a idol.

for julie, she can side with the guys, and still be on outside?

The incredible thing is that the guys were not forced to play the idols

So they should be able to get by on any tribal they lose.

I think had the girls all voted 3 tai. 4 scott. they could use the S idol to protect scott, but then it is a tieso then they could have voted tai or jason out and got rid of the idols.

Now it is 3-4 and no telling who julie goes with. and the guys can use the s idol to get rid of another oneThen they have the numbers.